ISO/IEC 42001: A Management System Standard for Artificial Intelligence
ISO/IEC 42001 was published in December 2023. It is the first certifiable management system standard for organisations that develop, provide or use artificial intelligence.
Key points
- ISO/IEC 42001:2023 sets requirements for an artificial intelligence management system.
- It follows the same structure as ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 27001 and can be integrated with them.
- It applies to organisations that use AI systems, not only to those that build them.
What the standard asks for
The standard applies the familiar management system model to AI: context, leadership, planning, support, operation, performance evaluation and improvement. It adds an AI risk assessment, an assessment of the impact of AI systems on individuals and society, and a set of reference controls in an annex.
Topics covered by the controls
- Policies for the responsible use of AI
- Roles and responsibilities, and reporting of concerns
- Data used for AI systems: quality, origin and preparation
- Information for users and interested parties
- The life cycle of an AI system, from design to retirement
- Relations with suppliers and customers
Why quality professionals should follow it
AI tools are entering quality control, document management and auditing. Organisations that already manage risk, competence, suppliers and change through ISO 9001 have the foundation to govern these tools in the same disciplined way.